Knowledgebase & Marketing Terms
Your comprehensive guide to digital advertising and performance marketing terminology. Learn about CPI, CPA, CPM, CTR, LTV, and all essential terms.
Ad Fraud
Ad Fraud is the practice of deceiving advertisers through fake impressions, clicks, or conversions. This includes bot clicks, invisible impressions, and fake conversions that generate revenue illegitimately.
Ad Impression
An ad impression, also sometimes called a view or ad view, is a single display of an ad to a user. It's counted each time an ad appears on a webpage or app, regardless of whether the user clicks it.
Ad Network
An ad network is a platform that connects a group of publishers with a group of advertisers. It acts as an intermediary that buys ad space from publishers and sells it to advertisers, facilitating the ad buying and selling process.
Ad Unit
An ad unit is any type of ad that is displayed to users. This includes banner ads, interstitial ads, video ads, native ads, and other formats that can be placed within digital content.
API
API stands for Application Programming Interface. An API is a special interface that allows different software applications to communicate with each other, enabling data exchange and functionality integration.
APK
An APK (Android Package Kit) is the file format used by Google's Android operating system for distributing and installing mobile apps. It contains all the elements needed to install an app on an Android device.
App Monetization
App monetization is the process of earning revenue from a mobile app. This can be achieved through various methods including in-app advertising, in-app purchases, subscriptions, and paid app downloads.
App Store Optimization (ASO)
App store optimization is the process of improving your app's visibility in the app stores. This involves optimizing various elements like the app title, description, keywords, screenshots, and reviews to increase downloads.
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)
Average revenue per user, or ARPU, is the measure of revenue divided by the number of users. It's a key metric that helps businesses understand how much revenue they're generating from each user on average.
Chargeback
A chargeback is a form of consumer protection where the consumer disputes a charge on their credit card statement. In advertising, this can occur when advertisers dispute charges for invalid clicks or conversions.
Churn Rate
The app churn rate is the percentage of users who stop using an app over a given period. It's a critical metric for understanding user retention and the long-term health of an app.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The CTR is the ratio of clicks to impressions on a certain ad or link. It's calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions and is expressed as a percentage.
Conversion Rate (CR)
Conversion rate is the percentage of users who complete a desired action. This could be making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, downloading an app, or any other goal defined by the advertiser.
Cookie
A cookie is a bit of data that gets added to the user's browser when they visit a website. Cookies are used to remember user preferences, track user behavior, and enable personalized experiences.
Cost Per Action (CPA)
Cost per action marketing is an advertising model in which the advertiser pays only when a specific action is completed. Actions can include sales, leads, form submissions, or other valuable user actions.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
Cost per click is one of the most popular advertising models where advertisers pay for each click on their ad. It directly ties advertising cost to user engagement with the ad.
Cost Per Engagement (CPE)
Cost per engagement, or CPE, is a pricing model used in advertising where payment is based on user engagement with an ad. Engagement can include likes, shares, comments, video views, or other interactive actions.
Cost Per Install (CPI)
Cost per install, or CPI, is a pricing model used in mobile app advertising where payment is based on app installs. Advertisers only pay when a user installs their app through the ad.
Cost Per Lead (CPL)
Cost Per Lead (CPL) is a billing model where a publisher charges an advertiser for each lead generated. A lead typically represents a user who has expressed interest in a product or service by providing contact information.
Cost Per Mille (CPM)
Cost Per Mille, also known as Cost Per Thousand (CPT) is a pricing model where advertisers pay per thousand impressions of their ad. It's commonly used for brand awareness campaigns rather than direct response.
Cost Per Sale (CPS)
Cost Per Sale is an advertising paying system where a publisher/website gets a commission for each sale generated through their referral. It's also known as affiliate marketing or performance-based marketing.
Cost Per View (CPV)
Cost per view is an advertising model in which the advertiser pays based on how many times their video ad is viewed. Typically, a view is counted when the user watches the video for a minimum duration (like 30 seconds).
Daily Active User (DAU)
Daily active users is a metric which indicates the total number of unique users who interacted with an app or website on a given day. It's a key indicator of user engagement and product health.
Device Fingerprinting
Device fingerprinting is the act of identifying a user's device through the collection of information about its software and hardware configurations. This technique is used for tracking, security, and fraud prevention.
Mobile Attribution Platform
Mobile attribution platforms are tools that help developers track how they acquire users and how users interact with their app. These platforms connect user actions with marketing efforts to measure campaign effectiveness.
Monthly Active User (MAU)
Monthly active users is an app usage metric that reveals the amount of unique users who interacted with an app in the past month. It's a key indicator of an app's growth and adoption.
Offer Wall
An offer wall is a monetization solution that appears on a mobile app or website displaying various offers for users to complete. Users typically earn rewards (like in-app currency) for completing these offers.
Organic Install
Organic installs are installs that are not attributed to a specific marketing campaign. These occur when users find and download an app through app store searches, word-of-mouth, or other non-paid channels.
Comprehensive Marketing Glossary
Our knowledgebase covers all essential digital marketing and advertising terminology